California became the first state in the nation to guarantee paid leave to people who can’t work because of a family medical emergency or the desire to take care of a newborn.

That was 10 years ago, but not enough part-time workers and minorities know the benefit is available for them, according to labor groups and equal-rights advocates who are launching an outreach and awareness campaign this month.

The program — called California’s Paid Family Leave, or PFL — is administered by the state Employment Development Department’s Disability Insurance Branch.

The Legislature approved the benefit in 2002, and it became active in 2004. Paid Family Leave guarantees up to 55 percent of a worker’s salary for up to six weeks within a 12-month period. Employees pay for it through a 1 percent deduction in their paychecks for the first $95,585 they earn in a year. The amount they receive depends on how much they contribute, regardless of whether they are full- or part-time workers.

Only New Jersey has a similar paid-leave program.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act and state laws protect job status for those who cannot work due to injury or illness, or need to tend to an immediate family member.

The California Work & Family Coalition, a partnership of unions and community groups, held a telephone news conference Thursday to begin their multilingual outreach campaign.

“The people who need this program the most — low-wage workers, immigrants, Latinos, young people — are less likely to know about it than people who often have employer-provided benefits,” Ruth Milkman, a sociology professor at City University of New York, said during the news conference.

Milkman last year released a study on the lack of awareness about PFL, which she based on a survey of 500 employees. She reported that about 38 percent of workers who earned less than $15 per hour knew about the benefit. In comparison, 63 percent of workers who earned $15 or more per hour knew of the paid-leave program.

Milkman said 60 percent is a good awareness rate because it is in line with other federal and state programs that protect job status in regard to maternity and other forms of leave.

The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council is developing its local outreach plan, which should be further along toward the end of this month.

“Women working in low-wage, retail and service jobs who would benefit the most from taking paid family leave are the least likely to know about it,” said Lorena Gonzalez, secretary-treasurer of the labor council.

“We have a long way to go to educate all workers about their rights at work, including paid family leave.”